Continuous spooling of aluminum wire



Feb. 13, 1968 J. v. OGRADY CONTINUOUS SPOOLING OF ALUMINUM WIRE s Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 5, 1966 POSITION 1 POSITION 2 POSITION a INVENTOR JOSEPH V.O'GRADY BY v I Y v ATTORNEYS Feb. 13, 1968 J. v. OGRADY CONTINUOUS SPOOLING OF ALUMINUM WIRE 5 Sheet'sSheet 2 Filed Aug.

FIG. 5

INVENTOR JOSEPH v. O'GRADY BY '&%F

l4 POSITION 4 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,368,765 CGNTWUOUS SPOOLING 0F ALUMINUM WIRE Joseph V. OGrady, Locust, N.J., assignor to Syncro Machine Company, Perth Amboy, N.J., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. '3, 1966, Ser. No. 569,076 Claims. (Cl. 242-25) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The following disclosure is directed to a device for the continuous spooling of aluminum wire on reels, without the necessity of shutting down the drawing machine to transfer the wire end to an empty spool, while assuring that the starting wire end will not abrade subsequent turns of wire on a reel. The wire reel disclosed is provided with a groove in the flange thereof which extends across a chord of the flange tangent to the barrel, into which groove the starting wire end is forced during the winding of the first few turns of wire on the reel, thus preventing subsequent contact between end turns of subsequent layers of wire and the starting wire end.

The present invention relates to the continuous spooling of wire and particularly of aluminum wire. As wire is drawn it is necessary that it be taken from the drawing machine and it is desirable that it be wrapped on a spool. However, as will be appreciated, it is undesirable that the wire-drawing machine be shut down to transfer the wire from a filled spool to an empty one. Therefore, means have been devised for making it possible to automatically shift the wire from a full spool to an empty one while the wire-drawing machine remains in operation.

One form of such continuous spooling device is shown in Bruestle Patent No. 2,600,841 issued on June 17, 1952, and assigned to the assignee of the present application. The device of the Bruestle patent has been modified to provide for a longer wire end, as is desirable for many purposes, one such modification being shown in Duff Patent No. 3,086,721 issued on Apr. 23, 1963, to the assignee of the instant application. Although the devices of the prior patents mentioned were effective for the continuous spooling of copper wire, they have proven to have disadvantages in spooling aluminum wire.

Aluminum wire is somewhat softer and more subject to abrasion than is copper wire. Therefore, when the devices of these patents are utilized with aluminum wire it becomes damaged as successive layers of wire are wrapped on the spool, due to the fact that the portion of wire extending from the spool flange inwardly to the spool barrel extends at an angle from the flange and lies in the path of the end turns of the various layers of wire as they are spooled, thus abrading and damaging the end turns of each length of wire.

My present invention provides a spool flange having a groove therein into which the portion of the wire leading from the rim of the spool flange to the barrel of the spool is pushed shortly after it is first placed on the spool with the result that the end turn of each layer no longer comes into contact with this portion as it is wrapped on the spool and therefore is not damaged.

It is an object of the invention to provide a continuous wire spooling apparatus which is adapted to the continuous spooling of aluminum wire without damaging that wire.

It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous wire spooling apparatus which is simple to make and which is readily installed upon wire spools of the usual form requiring only that a groove be provided in one flange of each spool or reel which groove extends generally tangentially of the reel barrel from one portion of the rim to another.

It is still another object of the invention to provide such a device which is provided with auxiliary spools in the manner ofthe Dufl patent above mentioned to thus provide for a wire end of a desired length.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent when the following description is considered in connection with the annexed drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a wire spooling device showing particularly a full spool, an empty spool and a schematic illustration of a wire guide which normally distributes the wire in layers on a spool and in addition causes the Wire to be carried from a position indicated in alignment with the full spool to a corresponding position in alignment with the empty spool.

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, but showing the position of the reels and the wire guide after winding of the wire on an auxiliary empty spool and the winding of a few widely spaced turns on the main empty spool.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary front elevational View similar to FIGURES 1 and 2 but illustrating the condition after the wire guide has resumed its normal slow movement and the wire has been laid in close turns at one end of the spool. In this view the spool flange is shown in vertical section.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view generally similar to FIGURE 3, showing the condition when the wire guide or distributor has reversed its direction and has moved at slow speed from left to right to lay a single layer of wire with closely spaced turns from right to left partially over the turns already on the barrel at the left end and partially directly on the spool barrel.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the plane of lines from 55 of FIGURE 3, showing particularly the mode in which an end portion of wire extending from the spool flange to the barrel is forced into a groove of the spool flange.

FIGURE 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on the plane of the line 66 of FIG. 1, showing the condition when a substantially complete turnof wire has been wrapped on the auxiliary spool, and showing also the position of a flange pin and of the wire guide.

FIGURE 7 is a vertical crosssectional view taken on the plane of the line 7-7 of FIG. 2, showing the positioning of the wire relative to the spool flange and groove after a number of turns have been accumulated on the spool barrel; and

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 7, but showing the spool in a slightly different rotational position and after a plurality of layers of wire have been placed on the spool.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIGURE 1, it will be seen that spools or reels 10 and 11 are mounted upon corresponding shafts 12 and 13 for rotation therewith. Shafts 12 and 13 are driven by variable speed drives in a well-known manner; the speed of the shaft 12 being less at the particular moment than that of the shaft 13, since the shaft 12 has a nearly filled spool 10 thereon, whereas the shaft 13 has an empty spool 11 thereon and the peripheral velocities must be equal to effect a proper transfer.

When the spool 10 has been filled to a predetermined level which may be indicated by a revolution counter, a signal causes the spool 11 to commence to rotate and this spool is brought up to a preselected speed and held at that speed awaiting transfer of the wire thereto.

When the wire guide or distributor 14 (which has been moving slowly to the left) has reached a preselected position as is indicated in FIGURE 1 by the legend position 1 the wire guide 14 is moved rapidly (in any suitable manner, as for example under drive of the penumatic cylinder of the Bruestle patent) fro-m position 1 to position 2, which is in alignment with the spool 11 which is then empty. As the wire guide moves to position 2, the wire guided thereby crosses in front of the snagger plate 15 which is mounted on the exterior of the plate 16 which plate is part of an auxiliary spool 17 mounted on shaft 13 adjacent spool 11 and driven by spool 11 through drive pins 25, which cooperate with holes 26 in the flange 22 of spool 11 (see FIG. 4). As will be obvious, the wire is caught by the snagger plate 15 due to the fact that at this time the spools 17 and 11 are rotating at a much higher speed than the substantially full spool 10.

As the reels continue their rotation, a turn of wire is wrapped on the auxiliary spool 17 which, as shown, has a barrel diameter equal to the barrel diameter of the main spools. After one or a few turns of wire are placed on the auxiliary reel or spool 17, the wire distributor or guide has moved to position 3 (FIG. 2) and the wire is caught by the pin 18 on the righthand flange of the auxiliary spool 17, is wrapped about that pin, and is carried down to the spool barrel as the spool continues its rotation.

It is to be noted that as the spools revolve the wire extending from spool to spool 11, or more exactly to snagger plate 15, comes into contact with blade 19 and is severed.

However, as is seen in FIGURE 2, the Wire where it first touches the barrel 21 is spaced somewhat from the reel flange 22 and, as has been indicated above, if this turn were permitted to remain in this spaced position, it would, as succeeding turns were coiled on the spool, be forced back against the reel flange and would protrude therefrom sufiiciently to cause damage to the adjacent and tum of each layer.

As seen in FIGURE 2, as distributor 14 moved to the right to position 3, turns of rather wide pitch were coiled on the spool 11 and more specifically, of course, on the barrel 21 thereof.

At this time the wire distributor rapid movement ceases and the guide 14 resumes its normal slow movement. Since when the fast traverse started the guide 14 was moving to the left, it now resumes movement in that direction. As a result, as is shown in FIGURE 3, wire is laid between the wide-pitched turns of FIGURE 2, and as the guide moves into alignment with the interior of the left flange 22 of spool 11, forces the length of wire extending from the pin 18 over the rim of flange 22 to barrel 21 into the tangentially extending groove 23 in the spool flange 22.

Since as discussed above, the section of wire extending from pin 18 to barrel 21 is forced into the groove 23, successive layers of wire and particularly those portions of layers adjacent to the reel flange are not interfered with by that first portion of wire and therefore cannot be damaged and abraded.

As will also be obvious, the wire distributor reverses its direction of movement in the usual manner, thus moving to the right to position 4 (FIG. 4) to coil a complete layer on the barrel, the first portion of which is coiled over the turns already on the barrel as described above.

While the spool 11 is filling as described above, the shaft 12 is stopped, the full spool 10 removed and an empty spool substituted therefor. The wire guide continues to distribute wire to the spool 11 by movement in alternate directions until the righthand spool 11 has been almost completely filled. Now the empty spool is driven at a fast speed and wire guide 14 is rapidly moved from position adjacent the righthand flange of spool 11 to a position adjacent the righthand flange of spool 10. In a manner similar to that already described the spool 10 has wire wound thereupon, shaft 13 is stopped and full spool 11 may be removed from the shaft and to be replaced by an empty spool.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that many modifications and variations may be made. For example, the single snagger plate mounted on the outer flanges of the auxiliary reels may be replaced by a plurality of such snaggers and in addition the number of pins 18 and grooves 23 may be increased, it being only essential that a groove such as 22 be provided extending tangentially of the barrel starting at each pin 18 and terminating at the end of the chord at the opposite side of the reel flange. Also, although no specific means has been described for holding the auxiliary reels and the spools on the shafts, it will be understood that suitable means such as drive pins and key are provided, so that the shafts bear the same relationship to the spools and the auxiliary spools or reels at all times assuring that the snagger plates are mounted in a position to cooperate properly with the Wire distributor.

In view of the many modifications which may be made, I prefer not to be limited by the foregoing description but on the contrary to be limited solely by the claims granted to me.

What I claim is:

1. A spool adapted to be filled on a continuous wire spooling device, said spool comprising a barrel and a flange at each end of the barrel, at least one of the said flanges having a groove in the inner side thereof, said groove extending along a chord of the flange circumference and tangential to the barrel circumference.

2. A spool as claimed in claim 1, said groove being generally semi-circular in cross-section and of a size to receive wire of the largest diameter desired to be spooled.

3. In a continuous spooler of the type having two independently driven variable speed shafts in axial alignment, each adapted to receive a main wire spool and an auxiliary wire spool driven by the main spool and a wire distributor cooperating to guide wire onto the individual spools as they rotate and to carry Wire from a full spool to an empty one, in combination, a pin on the flange of each auxiliary spool adjacent a flange of the main spool, a groove in the inner surface of the flange of the said main spool, said groove extending from adjacent said pin along a chord of said flange tangential to the spool barrel, said groove terminating at one end adjacent said pin, said auxiliary spool being in driven relationship to said main spool.

4. A continuous wire spooler as claimed in claim 3, wherein said wire distributor is caused to shift to feed wire to an empty spool at a point removed from said grooved flange and thereafter resume its ordinary slow layer depositing traverse to thus force a wire end extending from said pin to said barrel at an angle to the flange surface, into said groove.

5. A continuous wire spooler as claimed in claim 4 wherein said wire distributor in its continued movement back and forth with respect to a spool, deposits layers of Wire on the spool, said wire being prevented from contacting said wire end due to said forcing of the latter into said flange groove.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,314,658 9/1919 Huber 242l25.l 1,882,718 10/1932 Arkema et al. 242l25.l 3,086,721 4/1963 Duff 242-25 I. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

NATHAN L. MINTZ, Examiner, 

